Greenville’s Islander is a band with whom I share a deeply special personal connection. I first discovered the alternative metallers ten years ago, shortly after the release of their debut EP Side Effects of Youth, which has since been scrubbed from the internet. This was a year before I’d even start writing, but when that did happen in the summer of 2013, their next EP – and debut with Victory Records – Pains. ended up being one of the very first releases I ever reviewed for TUNED UP. I would then go on to review their inaugural full-length, Violence & Destruction, another year later, before eventually catching them live three times opening up for three different rock heavyweights in three different cities, the most recent of which took place nearly three years ago.

In the meantime, I kept up with their numerous personnel changes, spun their sophomore LP Power Under Control a decent amount when it came out in 2016, and even noticed when they left the sinking ship of Victory for their current label Better Noise. My point is that my own personal life seems to have changed and evolved right along with theirs, so when I first learned about their long-awaited third studio album, I felt like I had to jump at the opportunity of a “full circle” moment, if you will. And while we may have had to wait five, almost six years for It’s Not Easy Being Human, Islander made it worth the wait with a 17-track mammoth of an album that is busting at the seams.

One thing I’ve always admired about Mikey Carvajal is that throughout the many years as Islander’s frontman and lyricist he’s never been afraid to say what’s on his heart. Meaningful and often uplifting as well, his lyrics are prone to make you think, and It’s Not Easy Being Human is no exception. Carvajal is as emphatic as ever, touching on everything from the music industry and media, to awareness of both self and surroundings, to making the most out of life and even simply treating people the right way. The album, much like its title would suggest, explores the many different facets of the human experience, and does so with tremendous ease.

Musically Islander is able to achieve quite a bit with It’s Not Easy Being Human, in spite of being merely a trio. From the industrial feel of the album’s first few tracks, to the punk-esque vibes of cuts like “Skateboard Flowers,” to the old-school metalcore sound on album highlight “Skin Crawl,” to even the more straightforward rock tunes throughout, there’s a little bit of everything packed into the record’s 53-minute runtime. This is true not just stylistically, but also in terms of individual moments of instrumentation, whether that comes in the form of a killer drum fill like on the metaphoric “Lookin’ for Love,” rhythmic stomps such as those on “Black Scorpion” and the hopeful “What Do You Gotta Lose?,” or even at its most subtle points, like the haunting piano lines on the bridge of “Skateboard Flowers” and the sneakily-ethereal effects on “No Sleep.” The guitars are constantly complementing Carvajal’s vocals, a la “Mayday,” “Tear It Down,” and “Freedom,” although this is most apparent on “Skin Crawl,” where they run in perfect tandem with his screams (and with everyone else’s screams as well).

Speaking of “everyone else,” I would be remiss if I neglected the many, many guests who appear over the course of this album. The list of assists is a fairly long one in this case, but one thing they all share in common is that everyone brings something to add to the song they’re featured on, helping bolster its overall staying power. Take, for instance, the trap rock opener “We Scream” with Spencer Chamberlain of Underoath which stands up on its own, but with Chamberlain there’s this added industrial feel to it, sort of similar to Underoath’s latest album Voyeurist. Lacey Sturm adds this power that only she could add to the record’s title track, while Hyro the Hero and I Prevail’s Eric Vanlerberghe bring their unique edge to “Y’all” and “My Friends,” respectively, and Fire from the Gods’ AJ Channer brings his soulful vocals to “Freedom.”

Of course, frequent collaborators Sonny Sandoval of P.O.D. and HR of Bad Brains each make their third appearance on an Islander song with “Lights, Camera, Action,” and “Skateboard Flowers,” respectively, with the latter feeling like the most HR-inspired track the band has done yet. The collaboration most worthy of mention, however, is the vicious “Skin Crawl,” which features Korn’s Brian “Head” Welch on guitar and boasts this high-and-low back-and-forth on vocals: Carvajal and Zao’s Dan Weyandt cover the highs while Bruce Fitzhugh of Living Sacrifice takes care of the lows. The result is this blend of nu metal and metalcore that is easily the heaviest song the band has released to date, and no doubt the pinnacle of the album.

Although its peak does come a little bit premature (6 tracks in out of 17 total, to be precise), there’s still a lot to offer on the trio’s latest LP. Touching on all kinds of different styles, tones, and moods, It’s Not Easy Being Human feels like the next logical step in the South Carolina natives’ career trajectory. It’s much more than just your average heavy music release, and shows the evolution that Carvajal and company have made in the eleven years since forming as a band. And yes, listening to – and reviewing – the album really did feel like a wonderful full circle moment for me, so thank you, Islander, for that.  

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